A Christmas Gift
by CandC1988
Summary: Zack searches for the perfect Christmas gift for Maddie.
1. Finding the Gift

Disclaimer: I do not own the Suite Life of Zack and Cody or any of its characters.

Author's Note: Here is my Christmas fic! Yay for Christmas!

Chapter One

The Finding of the Gift

"Sleigh bells ring are you listening, in the lane snow is glistening," the carolers sang as Zack and Cody entered the Tipton hotel about a week before Christmas.

"So, what are you going to get Bonnie for Christmas?" Zack inquired of Cody as the two began to make their way towards the candy counter to say their daily hello to their friend Maddie.

"I don't really know," Cody frowned, "Bonnie hasn't really requested anything this year. She just told me to get her something good. She is a very hard person to shop for."

"You just have to know what girls want," Zack confidently told his brother, "See, like me, I plan on buying Maddie the best Christmas gift ever."

Maddie suddenly stood up from behind the candy counter, clearing her throat loudly to indicate to the twins that she had heard all of Zack's words while the two had been standing at the counter waiting for her to show up. Maddie noticed that Zack turned a deep shade of red.

"Zack, I thought we talked about this," she sighed, "I don't like you the same way you like me."

"That doesn't mean I can't get you the best gift ever," Zack insisted with a shrug as he bought a candy bar, "You just wait and see."

"Good luck beating the gift that my boyfriend is going to give me," Maddie smiled sweetly at him.

"If Danny beats the gift I give you, I will not eat chocolate for a whole week," Zack challenged her.

"You are so on," Maddie smiled, shaking his hand across the counter, "now you two better go check in with your mother before she freaks out."

The two boys ran onto the elevator. When they were going up, Cody turned to his brother.

"What are you going to get Maddie that is going to be so much better than Danny's?" Cody asked out of curiosity.

"That's why we're going shopping today," Zack explained to him, "I'll help you find a gift for Bonnie if you help me find a gift for Maddie."

Cody thought about his brother's offer for a moment. While Bonnie and Zack were totally different and had none of the same taste what-so-ever, maybe it would be good for Cody to have an extra opinion on the gift that he would end up buying. And besides, Cody reasoned, he could just always go in the exact opposite direction of what his brother said was a good present.

"Okay," Cody said steadily, "let's go check in with mom and see if it is okay if we go ahead and go."

"Sweet!" Zack smiled, punching his fist into the air, "I already have so many ideas for Maddie."

"Can't wait," Cody said dryly, wondering if this trip to the mall with Zack was going to be worse than a trip with London.

00000

"What about this?" Cody asked, holding up a book that he knew Bonnie would love. Zack looked at him with a disgusting expression on his face.

"You are supposed to be the one who understands women," Zack pointed out to him, "The sensitive one. No girl wants a book from her boyfriend on Christmas."

Cody frowned, but put the book down. He knew that he shouldn't go with what Zack had said basically because Bonnie and Zack were polar opposites and going with Zack's suggestions was probably not a good idea.

"So, basically, no clothes, no books, no scientific instruments, what should I get her then?" Cody exasperatedly asked his brother.

"Jewelry," Zack simply stated, "or, if you want, something you know about her that will make her realize just how well you know her and how much you really do listen to her."

"You've been giving a lot of thought to this," Cody stared in amazement at his brother.

"Well, I've been trying to figure out what to get Maddie for a long time, and since I can't really afford jewelry, I thought maybe something more personal would suffice," Zack shrugged.

"What if I get her a blue journal with her name and a quote from Thoreau on it because she loves to write poetry, loves Thoreau, and loves the color blue," Cody contemplatively said. Zack smiled at him.

"Now you're talking," Zack congratulated him, "I'm trying to find Maddie something within my price range that is good enough for her."

"Get her a gift card," Cody shrugged as he grabbed a blue notebook off the nearby shelf. Zack turned and stared at him.

"And I thought you were learning," Zack shook his head, "It's always the smart ones."

"Shut up," Cody scolded his brother, but laughed along anyways, "What is the one thing that Maddie loves?"

"Her family … her school work … her boyfriend," Zack sighed, "Maybe I should just give this up."

"Dude," Cody said, "You have this amazing ability to see Maddie for who she really is. You have also somehow developed this amazing ability for buying gifts that I didn't know you possessed, and I'm sure you will find the perfect gift."

"Actually, I have an idea," Zack smiled, "A good idea too."

"Where are we going?" Cody asked as they made their way to the front of the store.

"Pay," Zack demanded of his brother, "And I'll meet you in the next store."

Cody quickly paid, wondering what his brother was thinking considering the next store over was a flea market type thing. He walked in and found his brother holding up a tea set with an intricate design on the front. Cody looked at his brother questioningly.

"Maddie once told me that the one thing she wanted more than anything else when she was a little girl was her very own china tea set with a special design on it," Zack explained, "but, her parents could never afford a brand new one and thought she was incapable of handling it, so she never got one. She still misses not having one."

"That is a perfect gift," Cody congratulated his brother.


	2. Giving the Gift Away

Disclaimer: I do not own the Suite Life of Zack and Cody or any of its characters.

Author's Note: Here is my Christmas fic! Yay for Christmas! Sorry, I was supposed to update this on Monday, but our electricity was out and I've had finals all week, so I'm finally updating. Christmas is coming soon, is everybody ready?

Chapter Two

Giving the Gift Away

"Hey Danny," the twins greeted as they stepped off the elevator into the lobby to see Maddie's boyfriend sitting on one of the couch's. The boy looked up at the twins and smiled.

"Hey guys," he greeted back, "how are you doing?"

"Pretty good," Cody answered as they sat down, "Are you and Maddie going out tonight or something?"

"No, I am waiting for London," he shrugged.

"London?" the boys both asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, she's going to tell me what to buy Maddie," he answered, "You know, for Christmas."

"You still haven't gotten Maddie's Christmas gift?" Zack asked, his teeth clenching, "Christmas is two days away."

"That's why I'm going shopping now," Danny rolled his eyes at the boys, "Duh."

"You really are too smart for us," Cody laughed, walking away and dragging Zack with him, "okay, now don't say anything stupid to Danny."

"But he's going with LONDON to buy Maddie's Christmas gift," Zack informed him, "There's no one worse in the world to help you buy Maddie's Christmas gift."

"I know that," Cody soothed his brother, "But you have to remember that this is Maddie's significant other we are talking about, just let it go. I'm sure he will find her a terrific gift. Besides, if he doesn't, you will win the bet."

"Fine, whatever," Zack muttered, walking back into the hotel, "He just better get her a good gift."

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A couple of hours later, a satisfied Danny walked into the Tipton Hotel to see Zack sitting on the couch, arms crossed and staring off into space. He quickly approached him.

"Do you want to see what I got Maddie?" Danny eagerly said as he stepped up to the young boy. Zack snapped out of his reverie to glare at the boy, but merely nodded. Danny didn't seem to notice anything being wrong and happily opened the bag that he had the gift in and pulled out the gift, handing it to Zack.

"You got her a teddy bear?" Zack quirked an eyebrow at the boy.

"Well, yeah, stuffed animals are always good gifts," Danny said, confused. Zack sighed.

"For Valentine's Day," Zack told him, rolling his eyes, "didn't you even come up with one good gift idea? A teddy bear doesn't say that you know someone, it just says that you think they are cutesy and you didn't know what else to get them so you get them a teddy bear."

"I also got her a watch that lights up in the dark," Danny offered with a smile. Zack looked at the boy, again like he was stupid.

"Are you serious?" he questioned. When Danny nodded, Zack was dumbfounded.

"Have you ever had a girlfriend before?" Zack demanded to know. When Danny shrugged, Zack hopped up from his seat on the couch.

"I'll be back, don't move," Zack instructed him, "And do not give that awful present to Maddie."

A few minutes later, Zack returned with a carefully wrapped present in his hands with a huge bow on top of it and handed it to Danny.

"You got me a gift?" Danny asked him, stepping away.

"No idiot, it is the Christmas gift I got for Maddie," Zack snapped at him, "She deserves a great gift from her boyfriend. And since you're her boyfriend, you have to give her this gift. This perfect gift that I found. That I spent a lot of money on."

"Are you trying to make me feel bad for buying her a watch and a teddy bear?" Danny asked.

"Yes, because, you should know Maddie," Zack said, frustrated, "You should know her likes and dislikes, what she's wanted since she was a little girl. What she wants for her future. You should know these things, and trust me with those gifts you are just saying that you had no idea what to get her."

"Fine, I'll take your gift," Danny smiled, knowing that Zack must have gotten her a really great gift, "what did you get for her anyways?"

"A tea set," Zack sighed, "Just like the one she wanted when she was a little girl but her parent's never got for her because they felt she wasn't responsible enough and they couldn't afford a nice one. Tell her that when you give it to her, and it will make her think of a time when she told you that story and all will be well in your relationship."

"Why'd you get this gift for her?" Danny asked suspiciously.

"Because I wanted to give her something great," Zack admitted, "And now you get to give it to her."

"Thanks," Danny said, "And I know how you feel about her buddy, it was pretty obvious, but I thank you anyways."

"You should, I don't get chocolate because of you," Zack muttered, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go and see if I can come up with some sort of gift for Maddie before she asks me about it."

Zack walked back to the elevators, leaving a surprised Danny behind.

"Hey Danny," Maddie said sweetly as she walked up to her boyfriend, giving him a quick kiss. He turned around and smiled at her, handing her the gift.

"For me?" she asked sweetly, taking the gift and sitting down to open it, "I can't tell you how excited I am to see this."

As Maddie opened the tea set and looked at it, Danny couldn't help but notice how happy she looked. At how intricately designed the set was. About how much Zack must really care for Maddie to give up such a great gift.


	3. The Best Gift

Disclaimer: I do not own the Suite Life of Zack and Cody or any of its characters.

Chapter Three

The Best Gift

"Hey Zack," Maddie said cheerfully as she approached Zack sitting on one of the benches outside of the Tipton. Zack looked up at her and smiled, but then his smile quickly fell as he realized that he had not gotten her any kind of gift yet to replace the amazing one he had gotten her earlier. And he knew that she was going to be expecting his gift now. And he hated to disappoint her.

"Hey Maddie," Zack half-heartedly greeted her. Maddie handed him a wrapped present and looked at him expectantly.

"This is for you," Maddie stated as Zack opened it to reveal a huge candy bar, she smiled at him, "I figured I would let you have one more big piece of chocolate before you lost the bet because Danny gave me the best gift ever. He got me a tea set, you know, just like when I told you that story about me wanting one when I was younger, isn't it great? Now, what did you get me?"

"You know what, you can keep this," Zack handed her back the chocolate, "Because I didn't get you anything. And I don't deserve any kind of present from you."

"Zack … why didn't you get me anything?" Maddie wondered, looking curiously at him.

"Oh, you know, by the time I finally thought of something for you, I had already spent all my money on my brother, dad, and mom's gifts," Zack lied. Maddie was still looking at him curiously, as if she didn't believe him.

"Zack … if you got me something really bad, I want it anyways," Maddie smiled, "You've always given me a Christmas gift. Even when you were eleven and you just gave me a card."

"Well, this time I guess I just didn't," Zack snapped at her, not wanting to take a trip down memory lane, "You and Danny should go have fun and enjoy the Tipton's Christmas party."

Maddie sighed and stood up, but before she went back in she said, "I really would have liked anything you gave me Zack. I promise. I'm just sorry that you don't think that I'm worthy of anything."

Zack almost beat his head against the wall, but whispered to himself, "You are worthy of something. Of everything. Why did I have to be so nice and give that stupid gift to Danny?"

"Because you really are a great guy," Cody smiled as he joined his brother on the bench, "You sacrificed your own happiness so Maddie could get a great gift from that stupid boyfriend of hers."

"I know, but now she thinks I'm a total jerk," Zack said, "But after giving him the gift, I didn't have enough money to get her anything else."

"Hey, you don't have to explain this to me," Cody threw up his hands in defense, "I am behind you one hundred percent. I just want you to know that I'm proud of you. And Maddie would be too if she knew the truth."

"But, here's the thing brother, she doesn't know the truth," Zack informed him, looking down at his hands, "She thinks I'm just some idiot who didn't get her a gift."

"Zack … I know this is going to sound really sucky coming from your brother, and someone who doesn't know how to gift shop at all at that, but, maybe you really did give Maddie the best Christmas gift ever because you let her be with the one she loves," Cody gently said.

"Even if he doesn't know how to buy a gift at all?" Zack grumbled.

"Especially because he doesn't know how to buy a gift," Cody soothed. Cody then walked back into the hotel, once again leaving Cody to mull things over by himself.

'He's right,' Zack thought to himself, 'If I hadn't have given that gift to Danny, Maddie would be mad and depressed because her boyfriend didn't know how to buy her a gift. In fact, she probably would have left the party. Whereas, because I didn't get her a gift she was only disappointed for a few seconds.'

It was at that moment that Zack realized he was not as important in Maddie's life as he wanted to be. To her, he was just a friend. A younger friend. And to him, well, to him she meant the world. He would do anything for her.

And if that meant giving up the perfect Christmas gift so she could be happy, he was willing to do it. Just for her. With this justification in mind, Zack got up from the bench and headed back into the party, spotting his brother and Barbara at the punch table, laughing together, he walked over to join them.

"Finally decided to join us?" Cody asked, when Barbara was turned around he whispered to his brother, "she loved the gift."

"Of course she did man, it's all in the thought," Zack answered his brother, high fiving him before Barbara turned back around and greeted him with a smile.

"Merry Christmas Zack," Barbara sweetly told him, giving him a small hug, which he returned with his own Merry Christmas.

"Hey guys," Maddie said as her and Danny joined the group. The three said hi, without Zack making any sort of eye contact. Danny also mumbled a hello to the crowd, obviously not wanting to think about how Zack had gotten his girlfriend a better gift than he had.

"So, Zack, do you want to dance?" Maddie suddenly asked the boy after a few moments of awkward conversation. Danny started to open his mouth to object, but thought better of it and just stayed silent. Zack snapped out of his reverie to look at her.

"You want to dance with me?" Zack asked her in surprise. When Maddie nodded, Zack followed her out onto the dance floor, wondering what Maddie could possibly want.


	4. I Will Always Remember This Gift

Disclaimer: I do not own the Suite Life of Zack and Cody or its characters.

Author's Note: Okay, so I started this story at Christmas, and I am just now finishing it. I feel really bad about it, but I do like the story, so I guess I'm just happy that I actually got the last chapter out.

Chapter Four  
I Will Remember the Gift

Zack and Maddie began to dance around the floor, Zack not making eye contact with her. Zack was not sure why she wanted to dance with him, but he was determined to not look at her while he was still not sure if she was still angry with him. He could tell that she was trying to get him to look at her. Finally giving up, Maddie took a deep sigh before speaking.

"I know you gave the gift to him," she suddenly burst forth with the words, causing Zack to finally look at her, a surprised look on his face, "I mean, it took me a little while, but I finally realized it."

"I don't know what you are talking about," Zack said, uncomfortable at the thought that she actually might know this.

"Of course you do," she said patiently, knowing that he would go on pretending if she didn't kill that idea now. He was a very loyal guy and if he had given that present to Danny to try and make her happy, he would not admit the truth unless she forced him to, "I got to thinking about when I told Danny that story. And I told him that story after our second date whenever we were discussing whether tea or coffee is better. And he has never brought it up again, so the odds of him actually remembering the story are very slim. However, you remember details of my life that nobody I have ever known can remember and I'm sure that when I told you that. I might have told you that just once, maybe twice, and you filed it away in your brain to be used at a later date. It had to be you who gave me that gift, Danny's gifts usually consist of teddy bears and really bad jewelry."

"You weren't supposed to find out," he told her, smiling at her a little bit. He knew that this probably meant something bad for her relationship with Danny, but frankly, he didn't care because he knew it meant something great for his friendship with Maddie. Maddie who was dancing with him, telling him what a big part of her life he was.

"I know I wasn't," she said, giving him a pretty smile as she spoke, "And I will pretend that I don't know. Because, let's face it, this thing with Danny, it isn't really working out all that well, is it?"

"You know how I feel about most of your boyfriends," Zack laughed, reminding her of his usual interference in her relationships, "I would think the same would go for him."

"We won't last that much longer," she said wistfully, but with a small smile on her face. Zack could tell that she did not look as unhappy as she should have with the prospect of her relationship ending, "And yet, here you will be. Always the constant man in my life. Well, you and your brother. But, he has is own sweetheart and let's face it, he doesn't have near the friendship with me that you do."



Zack smiled at her, knowing that she was trying to make him feel better for yelling at him earlier and not believing him, while also still saying that she didn't feel the same way that he did. It was what they had always done, and it just felt natural to do that on Christmas as well.

"I am okay," Zack laughed, "You don't have to try and make everything up for me. You don't have to tell me that I am a great asset in your life. I will be fine. I've always had a crush on you. I may be a little stupid, but I'm not so dense to see that the crush wasn't returned. Heck, I am four years younger than you, that poses a big problem."

"I just want you to know that you are always in my life," Maddie smiled at him, "I want you to know that I trust you. That I consider you to be one of the most stable things in my life. And heck, if you look me up in four years and you are eighteen and I'm twenty two, you are going to have the most wonderful girlfriend on your hands. And I know that I will definitely have the best boyfriend."

"You can count on it," Zack promised her, knowing that she really would make a great girlfriend. Maddie all of a sudden looked over at Danny, who was glaring at them. She gave out a sigh before breaking away from Zack.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. Zack looked behind at where Danny was standing and gave a slight grimace. Danny, in fact, who had been very happy with Zack earlier looked as if he was about to fight Zack now.

"Hey, I get it," he gave her a fake smile, trying to make her feel better for leaving him, "Thanks for the chocolate. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek, "And I will always remember this gift."

And Zack knew that they both would.


End file.
